Liberace

The highest-paid entertainer in the world for nearly two decades, Liberace earned the title "Mr. Showmanship" for his crowd-pleasing act, which blended masterful piano playing with witty banter and ov...
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Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are among the latest Hollywood heavyweights who have joined calls for British officials to grant pardons to thousands of gay men who were prosecuted when homosexuality was illegal in the U.K. The two actors, who played lovers in Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, have signed a petition which was launched last month (Jan15) in honour of Alan Turing, the gay World War II codebreaker played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Oscar-nominated movie The Imitation Game.
The petition has been gathering speed since Cumberbatch threw his weight behind it, and other stars who have now given their backing include Jessica Alba, Ryan Reynolds, Channing Tatum and Bryan Cranston, while previous signatories include Cumberbatch's The Imitation Game co-star Keira Knightley, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, actor Matthew Goode, and moviemaker Lee Daniels.
As WENN went to press, the petition had gained more than 200,000 signatures.

Rock 'n' roll icon Buddy Holly is to be brought back to life for a new virtual performance as a hologram. Bosses at Hologram USA have teamed up with the late singer's widow, who heads up Buddy Holly Licensing, for the ambitious new project, which will debut in Texas next year (16).
Confirming the news, Maria Elena Holly says, "I am so excited that my partnership with Hologram USA on the Buddy Holly concert project will allow a new generation of fans to experience the thrill of seeing Buddy 'live' and in concert for the first time in many decades."
Hologram USA bosses are also working on a Las Vegas spectacular that will feature a virtual performance from the late Liberace.
Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur and Wu-Tang Clan star Old Dirty Bastard have previously been brought back from the dead for eerie performances.
Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in February, 1959.

Liberace is set to make a comeback in Las Vegas as a hologram in a new live show nearly 30 years after his death. The late pianist is set to come back to life in light form as part of a feature-length show in Sin City.
Bosses at start-up company Hologram USA have partnered with officials at the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts to create a show in which the digital entertainer would be able to interact with the audience.
Hologram USA CEO Alki David says in a statement, "This is a major step in the evolution of this medium for entertainment. With our partners at the Liberace Foundation we’ll be able to stage a show so lifelike - the room will be filled with all of the great singer’s charm and charisma."
Hologram USA is the company responsible for comedian Jimmy Kimmel's recent virtual appearance at the CMA Awards in Nashville, while he was filming his talk show studio in Los Angeles.
Liberace died in 1987 from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 67.

Michael Travis, the Oscars' one-time costume designer, has died, aged 86. The fashion icon, who also created Liberace's stage outfits, passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Thursday (01May14).
Travis served as the Academy Awards' go-to wardrobe expert for six years from 1960. He also designed costumes worn on cult 1960s U.S. comedy show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, as well as outfits for Dionne Warwick, The Supremes, Wayne Newton and The Temptations.
But he will perhaps be best known for his 16-year stint as Liberace's costume designer, which began in 1969.
The Detroit, Michigan native started his career creating costumes for Broadway productions.
Travis received a Primetime Emmy nomination in 1967 for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design, and he picked up a Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award in 2010.

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Rob Lowe is nothing if not candid. In promoting his new book, Love Life (the follow-up to 2011's Stories I Only Tell My Friends), Lowe has been espousing his opinions on subjects as diverse as the relative merits of Justin Bieber and big government, as well as re-enacting his awkward kissing scenes with Jewel while shooting the short-lived TV show The Lyon's Den.
One other revelation that came out of the book — which largely features stories about his wife and sons — is that Lowe feels as though he's been typecast because of his good looks.
"I've been told, as I'm sure others have been countless times, that the way I look precludes me from playing a cop or a doctor or a regular guy," the actor told Fox News. “'A PTA father would never look like that!' Meanwhile I am a PTA father but I've never been precluded from playing an arrogant, rich prick. So what does that tell you?"
There is no denying that the former teen heartthrob and Brat Pack member was, is and probably always will be an extremely attractive man. His looks helped him overcome everything from a sex tape scandal (before that was fashionable) — something Lowe will parody with an appearance in this summer's Jason Segal-Cameron Diaz comedy Sex Tape — to one of the most reviled moments in Oscars' history when he sang a cringe-inducing duet with Snow White.
The reality is that all actors are typecast in some ways based on their looks. Film and television is a visual medium and there's no escaping the fact that a person's appearance plays a role in that. He might not be in the running for some of the roles that Paul Giamatti or Patton Oswalt might play, but they're not going to be in the running for a whole lot more roles that an actor with Lowe's physical gifts would be.
Still, Oswalt's Young Adult costar Charlize Theron has proven that being gorgeous doesn’t have to stop an actor from getting substantial roles. Her physical transformation for Monster was convincing enough that audiences were willing to put aside the fact that she was still more attractive than the real Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer on whose life it was based. The same was true for Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Men considered just as beautiful as Lowe like George Clooney and Matt Damon have also downplayed their inherent good looks for roles (Syriana and The Informant! come to mind).
In fact, it's easier for most actors to do that — slide into a better looking version of a "normal" person — than it is for actors like Giamatti or the late Philip Seymour Hoffman to be seen as leading men, no matter how talented they are as performers.
While it's true that Lowe earned his way in Hollywood by virtue of his matinee idol good looks, that doesn't mean that it has to continue to define him… just as it hasn't always defined Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio. If he wants it to change, then he needs to continue taking roles like the creepy plastic surgeon in Steven Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.
Lowe has been around long enough that he knows the game and how to work around any stigma that might be attached to his being handsome. It's incumbent on him to fight for a role if he really wants to play it… even if it is just a PTA dad. That's the nature of Hollywood for all actors, not just the pretty ones. It's really hard to find a way that Lowe's looks have been a true hindrance to him, and when he's playing someone's ridiculously attractive grandfather in 15 years, we won't feel bad for him then either.
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Jennifer Lopez celebrated two wins at the 2014 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards on Saturday (12Apr14). The actress/singer was honoured with the Vanguard Award for her commitment to increasing the understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community through her work as a producer on U.S. TV series The Fosters.
The show, which revolves around a lesbian couple raising a family, also picked up the Outstanding Drama Series award for its accurate representation of LGBT life at the ceremony in Los Angeles.
Other winners included Behind The Candelabra, a drama starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, and TV writer Norman Lear, who produced 1970s U.S. sitcoms Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons.
Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox was presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award by actress Ellen Page for helping Americans understand transgender people.
U.S. soap opera Days of Our Lives won the Outstanding Daily Drama award. The show made TV history this month (Apr14) by becoming the first daytime soap to feature a wedding between two gay men.

Blue Jasmine, 12 Years A Slave and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire were feted for their onscreen outfits at the Costume Designers Guild Awards in California on Saturday night (22Feb14). Costume designer Suzy Benzinger, who dressed Cate Blanchett for her role in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, received the award for Excellence In Contemporary Film during the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, while 12 Years A Slave triumphed in the Period Film category.
The team behind Jennifer Lawrence's costumes in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was feted with the Excellence In Fantasy Film prize, and the TV categories were dominated by shows including British drama Downton Abbey (Outstanding Period/Fantasy Television Series) and House Of Cards (Outstanding Contemporary Television Series).
The lavish outfits worn by Michael Douglas in Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra scored the production a win in the Outstanding Made For Television Movie Or Miniseries category.
During the ceremony, actress Amy Adams was presented with the Lacoste Spotlight Award, which honours stars whose "talent and career personifies an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special awareness of the role and importance of costume design".

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger turned personal trainer to help his friend Tom Arnold lose weight. The 54 year old has lost 90 pounds (40.8 kilograms) since last year (13) and credits his True Lies co-star with helping him to achieve his goals by working out with him in his luxurious gym.
He says, "If Liberace had a gym - it's like a Versailles - there's columns and statues and paintings of his family.
"You go in there, he's got a lot of his buddies, they're European. They got their shirts off and G-strings on... and they wear the real short shorts."
Despite the unique gym experience, Arnold insists Schwarzenegger is looking out for his best interests.
He continues, "He really cares... He means well, but it's very intimidating. By him just looking at you when you're working out, you feel very insecure... He jams his big meaty finger into your belly."

The stars of American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club, Modern Family and Breaking Bad were the big winners at the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night (18Jan14). The American Hustle ensemble was named Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture, while Dallas Buyers Club co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto added to their Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards wins by scooping the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role honours, and Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) and Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) claimed the actress awards.
All four stars picked up Oscar nominations on Thursday (16Jan14) and are considered favourites for the Academy Awards in March (14).
Breaking Bad and Modern Family dominated the top TV awards at the SAGs - the casts picked up the Best Ensemble honours for TV drama and comedy, respectively, and stars Bryan Cranston and Ty Burrell were named Best Actors for their roles as drug kingpin Walter White and hapless TV dad Phil Dunphy.
Dame Maggie Smith won the Best Actress honour for her role as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, and another Dame, Helen Mirren, picked up her fifth SAG Award as she was named Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for her portrayal of music mogul Phil Spector's legal sidekick Linda Kenney Baden in Phil Spector. Michael Douglas claimed the male equivalent for another real-life portrayal in a biopic - his turn as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra won him the trophy.
He acknowledged his father Kirk Douglas in his acceptance speech, stating, "I've got a 97-year-old member of SAG back at home who I know is particularly proud of me getting this award. I want to thank all of you here tonight for helping me get out of his shadow for a little bit."
The full list of winners is:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - American Hustle
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Helen Mirren (Phil Spector)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series - Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series - Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series - Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - Breaking Bad
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture - Lone Survivor
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series - Game of Thrones
Life Achievement Award - Rita Moreno

"Human sexuality is the new showmanship, so Miley Cyrus is the new Liberace - but of a** grinding. Someday we’ll all be going to Vegas to see her." Comedienne Tina Fey believes Miley Cyrus has a big part to play in pop culture.

Summary

The highest-paid entertainer in the world for nearly two decades, Liberace earned the title "Mr. Showmanship" for his crowd-pleasing act, which blended masterful piano playing with witty banter and over-the-top glamour. Classically trained and rising through the supper club circuit, Liberace became a top draw in the 1950s, notching $50,000 a week for his Vegas shows. His TV series "The Liberace Show" (syndicated, 1953-54) cemented his massive popularity with women, who responded to his gentle nature and rhinestone-soaked flamboyance. While he never ignited as a film draw despite his star turn in "Sincerely Yours" (1955), Liberace remained an incredibly popular television figure whose shameless self-promotion and shilling of products only endeared him more to fans, who appreciated his up-by-his-bootstraps pluck. Plagued by rumors and hit with a 1982 palimony suit for $113 million by his limo driver/bodyguard and alleged lover Scott Thorson, Liberace steadfastly denied his homosexuality all his life. He died at the age of 67 on Feb. 4, 1987 due to AIDS-related complications, although he never publicly admitted being sick. Thorson's 1987 tell-all <i>Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace</i> revealed colorful details about the entertainer's life, inspiring a feature film of the same name (HBO, 2013), directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon as Thorson and Michael Douglas as Liberace. Although modern audiences may not have appreciated just how massively influential and popular he was during his lifetime, Liberace singlehandedly wrote one of the most impressively outrageous American Dream stories of all time, conquering the world in his inimitably glamorous style.<p>Born May 16, 1919 in West Allis, WI, Wladziu Valentino Liberace was the son of a musical father who was determined to fill his house with music. Beginning piano lessons at age four and subjected to his father's strict standards, by the time Liberace was eight he demonstrated such talent and potential that he caught the eye of famous Polish pianist Ignaz Paderewski, who arranged for the youngster to receive a scholarship at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. With the help of his private tutor Florence Kelly and tireless practice, Liberace eventually debuted as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony at age 20. Although he had the talent to make it as a straightforward classical musician, Liberace had greater ambitions and an oversized personality to match. Throughout the early 1940s, he toured the United States, honing his act - an innovative mixture of classical and pop music liberally seasoned with comedy and audience interaction. His unique persona gelled by 1945, when he decided to bill himself as simply "Liberace" and to invest in the showmanship on which he would earn his fame, starting with an enormous grand piano and his trademark - an ornate, lit candelabra. His nightclub popularity led to him filming several "soundies," an early precursor to music videos, and he continued to refine his act, tirelessly polishing his performance and upping the "wow" factor with clever gimmicks and banter. Another key to his rise was his skillful self-promotion and ability to sell a glamorized version of himself, including publicity stunts such as purchasing "priceless," ornately designed pianos and appearing in extravagant costumes.<p>He quickly conquered his corner of the musical world, earning a record $138,000 for his 1954 performance at Madison Square Garden, and by the following year, he was earning $50,000 a week for his Vegas shows. Beloved and lampooned alike for his flamboyant appearance, performances and persona, Liberace became an icon of American pop culture. His television series, "The Liberace Show" (syndicated, 1953-54) became a smash hit, helping him achieve global popularity and establishing many of the hallmarks that would endear him to his mostly female fan base, such as his mother's constant presence at every show and his subsequent demonstrations of devotion to her. Portraying himself as a shy but goodhearted bachelor waiting for the right woman, Liberace became something of a sex symbol to many women, who responded to his kindness, glamour and gentle spirit. Although Liberace's homosexuality was something of an open secret and a source of delight for detractors and perceptive fans alike, many of his fans at the time knew nothing of his true leanings. Although he lived privately as a homosexual, Liberace fiercely defended his public heterosexual image, successfully suing <i>The Daily Mirror</i> in 1956 for alleging he was gay. The entertainer's enormous wealth and popularity helped insulate him against the rumors, as did his considerable charm and self-deprecating humor.<p>Although Liberace had made several film appearances, including "South Sea Sinner" (1950), his star turn in "Sincerely Yours" (1955) and "When the Boys Meet the Girls" (1965), television proved most welcoming, including a memorably campy double performance on "Batman" (ABC, 1966-68) and several incarnations of his own show, which helped launch sales of his albums as well as several successful books. In 1976, the entertainer founded the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, and three years later, he opened The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, a town over which he had come to effectively reign. Although he was hit with a $113 million palimony suit in 1982 by his long-term bodyguard, limo driver and alleged ex-lover, Scott Thorson, Liberace remained a powerfully popular figure, performing all five nominated film themes at the Academy Awards and notching a series of Radio City Music Hall appearances over the next few years that shattered all sales and attendance records for the storied venue. The entertainer continued to publicly deny his homosexuality, although he settled with Thorson for $95,000 in 1984, and he stuck by this party line until the end of his life. Although he never publicly admitted he was ill, Liberace died at the age of 67 on Feb. 4, 1987 at his home in Palm Springs due to AIDS-related complications.<p>In 1987, Thorson published a tell-all book, <i>Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace</i>, that alleged that the entertainer had lived a promiscuous lifestyle of drug use and orgies, from which he had contracted HIV, as well as pressuring Thorson to have plastic surgery to look more like him. The colorful life of Mr. Showmanship continued to fascinate, inspiring two television movies "Liberace" (ABC, 1988) and "Liberace: Behind the Music" (CBS, 1988), as well as a 2010 stage show "Liberace: Live from Heaven." Although the Liberace Museum closed in 2010, the Liberace Foundation continued to provide scholarships, awarding more than $5.8 million to more than 2,700 students since the late-1970s. Most exciting of fans was the news that Steven Soderbergh had cast Michael Douglas as "Liberace" (HBO, 2013) and Matt Damon as Scott Thorson in a biopic that promised to renew interest in the performer who lived his own, glittering version of the American dream.<p><i>By Jonathan Riggs</i>

Name

Role

Comments

Angie Liberace

Sister

Born Dec. 11, 1914; Died Nov. 22, 1996

George Liberace

Brother

Born July 31, 1911; worked with brother during early days of his career as bandleader of Liberace's orchestra, featured violinist, and comic foil; Died Oct. 16, 1983

Met 1976; Thorson was Liberace's chauffeur and live-in lover for years; He sued Liberace 1982, but case settled out of court 1986; Thorson wrote book about their relationship Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace (1988)